U.S. patent number 4,008,802 [Application Number 05/578,714] was granted by the patent office on 1977-02-22 for surgical needle retaining and inventory pad, and accounting method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Acura-Med. Invention is credited to Samuel L. Freitag.
United States Patent |
4,008,802 |
Freitag |
February 22, 1977 |
Surgical needle retaining and inventory pad, and accounting
method
Abstract
A pad of resilient material through which needles can be
inserted is provided with consecutively numbered needle receiving
zones formed by ridges upstanding from an upper face of the pad,
and by transversely extending lines across the ridges. This enables
an accurate method of counting the needles used in the surgery
because a needle used by the surgeon can be positioned in a zone by
insertion through the adjacent ridge enabling an accurate count of
the needles by merely glancing at the pad.
Inventors: |
Freitag; Samuel L. (Oakland,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Acura-Med (San Leandro,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
24313994 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/578,714 |
Filed: |
May 19, 1975 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/63.3;
206/459.5; 206/382; 206/460 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
17/06161 (20130101); A61B 2090/0804 (20160201) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
17/06 (20060101); A61B 19/00 (20060101); A61L
017/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;150/52R
;206/380,382,365,366,406,435,460,438,459,63.3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hart; Ro E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Caplan; Julian
Claims
I claim:
1. A surgical needle retaining and inventory pad comprising a base
sheet having at least three parallel rows of consecutively numbered
needle receiving zones on a face thereof, and at least two spaced
apart continuous ridges of resilient flexible material projecting
upright from said face adjacent each zone into which a surgical
needle can be inserted and retained, said ridges being integral
with said base sheet and parallel to each other, the consecutively
numbered zones being defined by the ridges and by lines on said
face of the base sheet extending transversely with respect to said
ridges, said base sheet being permanently bonded to a relatively
stiff backing sheet which has a line of weakness along which the
pad can be folded.
2. A surgical needle retaining and inventory pad according to claim
1 wherein said face has a pressure-sensitive strip adjacent one
edge of the pad for engaging the opposite edge and retaining the
pad in folded condition.
3. The pad of claim 1 wherein the base sheet is of resilient
flexible polyurethane foam-like material and has a plurality of
side by side rows of such needle receiving zones with the zones
consecutively numbered commencing with number one through the
number designating the total number of zones, and the ridge of
resilient flexible material adjacent each zone is part of a
continuous upright ridge between adjacent rows of zones and is
integral with said base sheet.
4. A surgical needle retaining and inventory pad comprising a base
sheet having at least two side by side ridges of flexible resilient
polyurethane foam-like material into which a surgical needle can be
inserted and retained, said ridges projecting upright from a face
of the pad, and a plurality of lines marked on said face extending
transversely across said ridges dividing said face into a plurality
of side by side rows of needle receiving zones with each row
adjacent a ridge, the zones being marked with consecutive numbers
commencing with number one through the number designating the total
number of zones, said base sheet having at least three parallel
rows of said consecutively numbered needle receiving zones, and at
least two spaced apart continuous ridges integral with said base
sheet and parallel to each other; the consecutively numbered zones
being defined by the ridges and by lines on said face of the base
sheet extending transversely with respect to said ridges, the
opposite face of said base sheet being permanently bonded to a
relatively stiff backing sheet which has a line of weakness along
which the pad can be folded.
5. The surgical needle pad of claim 4 wherein the pad and ridges
are integrally formed, and each of the ridges has a substantially
triangular cross sectional shape.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In surgery, surgical needles are dispensed to the surgeon and an
accurate count is maintained to insure that after the patient is
ready for closing the number of needles used in the surgery is the
same as those that have been dispensed to the surgeon. Pads for
holding the needles as well as other instruments after they have
been used are known in the art as is typified by the patent to
Eldridge, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,658, dated Apr. 17, 1973, wherein
the pad is provided with magnetic strips on its upper face to
retain metallic instruments used in surgery, such as surgical
needles.
However, such type of magnetic retaining means is not all to be
desired because instruments used in the surgery which are not
intended to be retained by the pad, such as needle holders may
become attracted to the pad by the magnetic strips, and when pulled
away may knock off implements adhered to the pad by such magnets.
Moreover, there is no systematic arrangement of the used surgical
needles so that an accurate count may be obtained at a glance of
the number of needles that have been used in the surgery to insure
that the correct number has been accounted for before the patient
is closed.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Summarizing the invention hereof, it comprises a pad which has
projecting from its upper face, ridges of resilient flexible
material which are adapted to have inserted therein surgical
needles so as to fixedly retain them. The face is also provided
with a plurality of needle receiving zones adjacent the respective
ridges; and these zones are marked with numbers which run
consecutively from number 1 through the number designating the
total number of zones.
As the needles are used they are positioned consecutively in the
needle retaining zones; and when the surgery is over and the
patient is about to be closed, the scrub nurse or whoever else
keeps track of the number of needles that have been dispensed to
the surgeon, can thus tell at a glance whether the correct number
of used needles has been accounted for. Desirably the zones are
formed by side by side, desirably parallel, ridges projecting
upwardly from the upper face of the pad and by lines, desirably
parallel, marked on such surfaces, and which extend transversely
across the ridges. This, thus provides continuous ridges with a
ridge portion adjacent each zone into which the needle can be
inserted and fixedly held.
Advantageously, the pad and the ridges thereon are integrally
formed either by molding or by cutting, and are desirably of soft
elastomeric material, such as foam polyurethane. As a
reinforcement, the back surface of the pad is attached by an
adhesive bond to a relatively stiff but still flexible backing
sheet, preferably of paperboard. This gives body to the pad. The
exposed back surface of the backing sheet has strips of pressure
sensitive tape secured thereto which are covered by masking strips
so that when the masking strips are removed the pad may be fixedly
adhered to the so-called "field" (support table) in the surgery
room.
Also, a line of weakness, desirably a perforated line is formed in
the backing sheet to enable the pad to be readily folded on itself
with the needle supporting faces facing each other. A similar strip
of pressure sensitive tape is attached to the front face of the pad
adjacent one edge thereof, and is covered with a masking strip.
When the masking strip is removed, the edges of the pad adjacent
the pressure sensitive strip can be adhered together when the pad
is folded so that the pad may be disposed of in folded condition
with the used needles covered.
From the preceding it is seen that the invention has as its
objects, among others, the provision of an improved surgical needle
retaining and inventory pad from which an accurate count of the
needles used in surgery can be obtained before the patient is
closed, which is of simple and economical construction, and which
enables an improved method of maintaining an inventory of surgical
needles used during the surgery to insure that the patient is not
closed until all the needles are accounted for. Other objects of
the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed
description and accompanying drawings, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the surgical needle retaining and
inventory pad hereof;
FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken in a plane indicated by line
2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the pad as initially packaged in a
sterile sealed flexible container;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary isometric view of the pad illustrating how
a surgical needle is inserted and held thereby;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view looking at the back face of the
pad;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary isometric view on a reduced scale of a
portion of the pad illustrating how consecutive needles which were
used in the surgery are held by the pad;
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view illustrating how the pad may be
folded on itself; and
FIG. 8 is a vertical cross section on an enlarged scale of the
folded pad in which adjacent edges are adhered together.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Pad 2 is desirably of rectangular shape; and comprises a base sheet
3 having spaced apart, desirably parallel, ridges 4 projecting
upwardly from the upper face of the sheet. Extending transversely
at right angles across the upper face of the sheet and the ridges,
are spaced apart parallel lines 6 which together with the ridges
divide the pad into a plurality of side by side rows R of needle
receiving zones indicated by reference letter Z. These zones are
marked consecutively with numbers from number 1 through the number
designating the total number of zones, namely 40, on the pad.
It will be noted that each row of zones (four rows of zones in the
preferred embodiment) contains ten zones numbered consecutively in
each row. The lines 6 and the zone numbers are marked on the top
face of the pad by any suitable printing ink. Each ridge 4 is
desirably continuous but it provides a portion thereof adjacent
each zone Z into which a surgical needle 7 (FIG. 4) may be
laterally inserted by means of the usual instrument such as needle
holder 8, and be firmly retained in the ridge.
In use during surgery, when a needle is removed from a patient, it
is inserted in the manner described into a ridge adjacent the first
needle zone 1 which is marked number 1, and the next needle removed
from the patient is inserted in the ridge adjacent the next
consecutive zone marked 2. This procedure is continued until all
the needles removed from the patient are placed or received on the
pad. Since an accurate count of needles dispensed to the surgeon is
kept in the usual manner, by merely looking at the pad one can tell
after the surgery is completed whether the total number of needles
consecutively inserted into the pad is the same as the number of
needles dispensed to the surgeon. If so, the patient can be safely
closed.
Desirably the pad is provided with at least two spaced apart
continuous ridges 4 which provide two rows of zones Z although only
one ridge and one row of zones is feasible. Preferably, the pad is
formed with four continuous ridges which form four rows of side by
side zones with each row having ten zones. Although ridges 4 are
integrally formed with base sheet 3, they can be separate pieces
adhered by adhesive bonding to the base sheet but this is not as
advantageous a construction as the integrally formed ridges. In
this connection, it will be noted that ridges 4 are triangularly
shaped in cross section which facilitates their formation.
Desirably, to reinforce the pad the back surface face is adhesively
bonded to a relatively stiff but flexible backing sheet 11
desirably of 4-ply paperboard. Adhered to the exposed face of the
backing sheet are strips 12 of pressure sensitive tape which are
normally covered with masking strips 13. When the pad is to be used
in surgery these masking strips are removed by hand, and pressure
sensitive strips 12 provide means for adhesively holding the pad to
a support in the surgery room.
Means is provided after the surgery to enable the pad to be folded
on itself for disposal with its edges adhered together. For this
purpose a strip 14 of pressure sensitive tape is attached to the
upper face of the pad adjacent one edge thereof, and is normally
covered with a strip of masking tape 16. When the masking tape 16
is removed, pad 2 can be folded upon itself as shown in FIG. 7 to
the position shown in FIG. 8 whereat the pressure sensitive tape 14
bonds the two adjacent edges of the pad together, thus rendering
the pad completely disposable with the used needles 7 completely
incased. To facilitate the folding, backing sheet 11 is provided
with a line of weakness 17, desirably a perforation line 18, and
the row of zone Z above line 18 is wider than the width of the
other rows of zones.
Pad 2 is packaged initially in a transparent sealed and sterilized
envelope 21, as is usual with surgical implements. In the
embodiment illustrated, the pad is about 8 inches long, about 5
inches wide, about 1/4 inch uniform thickness except at ridges 4
which project about 1/4 inch above the top face of the sheet and
are about 3/8 inch wide at the base.
* * * * *